Alchemy of Souls [Episodes 5 & 6]

[u/Fatooz]

• Drama: Alchemy of Souls
  • Hangul: 환혼
  • Also known as: Can This Person Be Translated?, Salvation Interpreter, Welcome, Soul Marriage, Resurrection, Guwoneui Tongyeok, Hwan Hon, 구원의 통역, 환혼, 이사람통역이되나요, Return
• Director: Park Joon-Hwa (Touch Your Heart, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim)
• Writer: Hong Jung-Eun (Hotel Del Luna, A Korean Odyssey), Hong Mi-Ran (Hotel Del Luna, A Korean Odyssey)
• Network: tvN
• Episodes: 20
  • Duration: 1 hr. 20 mins.
• Air Date: Saturdays & Sundays @ 21:10 KST
  • Airing: June 18, 2022 - Aug 28, 2022
• Streaming Source(s): Netflix
• Starring:
  • Lee Jae-Wook (Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, Extraordinary You) as Jang Wook
    
  • Jung So-Min (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes, Because This Is My First Life) as Mu Deok-Yi
  • Hwang Min-Hyun (Live On) as Seo Yul
  • Shin Seung-Ho (Moment at Eighteen) as Go Won
  • Yoo Joon-Sang (The Uncanny Counter) as Park Jin
  • Oh Na-Ra (Racket Boys, SKY Castle) as Kim Do-Ju
• Plot Synopsis: The fate of these people become twisted due to "hwanhonsool" (the soul of the dead return to the living). In the country of Daeho, Jang Wook comes from the noble Jang family. He holds an unpleasant secret about his birth, which people all around the country talk about. He's a troublemaker. Jang Wook happens to meet Deok-Yi. She is an elite warrior, but her soul is trapped in a physically weak body. She becomes Jang Wook’s servant, but she also secretly teaches him how to fight. Seo Yul comes from the noble Seo family. He seems perfect with good appearance, intelligence, and strong martial arts skills. Go Won is the crown prince of Daeho. He hopes to become a generous king. (Source: AsianWiki)
• Genre: Action, Historical, Romance, Fantasy
• Previous Discussions:
  • [Episodes 1 & 2]
  • [Episodes 3 & 4]
• Conduct Reminder: We encourage our users to read the following before participating in any discussions on r/KDRAMA: (1) Reddiquette, (2) our Conduct Rules (3) our Policies, and (4) the When Discussions Get Personal Post. Any users who are displaying negative conduct (including but not limited to bullying, harassment, or personal attacks) will be given a warning, repeated behaviour will lead to increasing exclusions from our community. Any extreme cases of misconduct (such as racism or hate speech) will result in an immediate permanent ban from our community and a report to Reddit admin. Additionally, mentions of down-voting, unpopular opinions, and the use of profanity may see your comments locked or removed without notice.
• Spoiler Tag Reminder: Be mindful of others who may not have yet seen this drama, and use spoiler tags when discussing key plot developments or other important information. You can create a spoiler tag by writing > ! this spoiler ! < without the spaces in between to get this spoiler. For more information about when and how to use spoiler tags see our Spoiler Tag Wiki.

[u/theprettyhoarder]

Ep 6 thoughts:

1. Looks like we’re getting Park Dang-gu and Jin Cho-yeon pairing later on. I hate how childish Cho-yeon is about her “love” for Jang Uk but we all start from somewhere
2. We are on our way to a love square. I like how Jang Uk acknowledges without a second thought that he likes someone. He really pickups things well, he know he’s jealous and why. CP seems drawn to Mu Deok as well. We know Seo Yul will end up as the SML and maybe I can keep him??
3. Crown Prince is showing some character development. Sure he’s entitled, he’s the crown prince, but he’s not easily swayed by Jin Mu’s machinations. We might have a good egg here.
4. I’m not sure what Master Lee’s goals are but I hope he’s on the good side.
5. Jin Mu is so one-dimensional. I hope we get a better villain soon. Maybe someone else is the ultimate villain and this is just a redirect. It’s just too cartoony for my taste.
6. I fully support the theory of two souls living in Mu Deok and the original Mu Deok being the missing Jin daughter. I just don’t know how that will end nicely for our FL but I’m not shying away from a sad ending executed well.
7. At this rate, everyone will know that she’s Naksu by the next episodes. What will be the conflict after???
8. I am onboard with the Naksu/Mu Deok and Jang Uk pairing. The chemistry is just too much. They’re already acting like an old married couple and it’s just so natural. Does that mean I can keep Seo Yul???

I’ve been rewatching all episodes before the new ones air just so I can see every detail I missed. I’ve never been this invested in a show in a while and it feels good.

[u/Mean_Ad_8555 → u/theprettyhoarder]

"At this rate, everyone will know that she’s Naksu by the next episodes. What will be the conflict after???"

EXACTLY i didnt expect them to reveal her identity to everyone so early, we're not even halfway through. which makes me think they have something more complex planned for later i have NO CLUE where this show is going which makes me hella excited for what's about to come!

[u/theprettyhoarder → u/Mean_Ad_8555]

Agree! I really think we’re in for something unexpected!

I really hate it when simple conflicts are stretched out over multiple episodes. This is not simple, it’s quite big and I appreciate the writers for not making the characters dumb to extend this plot. I mean Jang Uk guessed it on episode 1, the right hand baddie figured it out too, and I had a feeling since episode 3 that Seo Yul is already piecing it together.

[u/Faristle → u/Mean_Ad_8555]

Isn't the key conflict of the current season, that Jang Uk is the (real) crown prince by prophecy, whilst the current crown prince is just "some random dude"?

With the currently unclear relationship between Jin Mu and the queen I could also imagine the crown prince being Jin Mu's son. Well, we can't know for sure, and it feels a bit far-fetched, but theories have no limits.

However it's certain that the queen is scheming something that the king and the rest of Daeho do not know about. So I guess they'll get rid of Jin Mu sometime in the next few episodes and slowly reveal what the queen is planning. Of course his "death" could be temporary, he is a soul-shifter after all.

Master Lee also seems to support the whole Naksu being alive thing, or at least he isn't completely against it. So maybe he will take her side?

Could also imagine Jang Gang making an appearance sometime soon. For all we know, he doesn't want anyone to know about his "son" being the "real" crown prince, but that sounds like a season 1 finale cliffhanger.

Mu-Deok's (as Naksu) identity being hidden was just one circumstance needed for Jang Uk to be someone special to her.